Removing Cached Files

[gatorback]

The Activity monitor indicates 4GB of Cached files:

Instructions for clearing cache file: https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-clear-the-cache-on-mac

1. Open Finder, click go and click Go to Folder
2. Type ~/Library/Caches
3. Right-click on a file
4. Click move to Trash

What problems can be caused if I delete the files under ~/Library/Caches ?

 

[Edhawk]

Might slow down some processes that use the cached files until the cache is rebuilt, but shouldn't harm the system.

By the looks of things your 32GB of memory isn't struggling with the 4GB of Cached files. Your system is shown as only using 6-7GB of memory on other processes. So even if the used memory went up to 20GB, 4GB of cached files won't slow down your system.

To me this indicates you don't need to delete the cached files.

My AMD Asus B550 / Ryzen 5 5600G / RX 5700XT / 32GB RAM system has a larger amount of used memory and cache and I don't notice any impact on the system.